The Atlanta Thrashers host a Casino Night each year as a fund-raiser for the Thrashers Foundation, which supports various charitable efforts. I’ve been begging to go for three years now, and finally, this year, I wore Ed down. I knew I wanted to go with a 1950s/pin-up girl look, and by some miracle I found a gorgeous vintage dress at Frock of Ages: it’s black velvet and celebrates my curves. A trip to Pin-Up Girl Cosmetics here in Atlanta took care of my hair and make-up. For two hours I was curled, plucked, brushed and made-up, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
We finally got to Casino Night at Opera, and it was a crowded house. Most of the gaming tables were full, so we made a tour to see where the players were dealing. Ed and I met up with our friends Steve and Brandy, and of course the guys made a beeline for the craps table. They lost their money in short order: thankfully, it was only play money, redeemable at the end of the night for raffle tickets.
Meanwhile, Brandy and I realized the party table was roulette with Jim Slater. He had us clapping, cheering and generally acting up as the rowdiest table at Casino Night. When Ed told Jimmy that I’m “the girl with the Slater banner,” I was rewarded with a high five and a stack of chips. Jimmy even called me “the biggest Slater fan in Philips Arena.” Yay!
I was actually fortunate enough to have a lot more interaction with Jimmy, and he was very gracious. (He also made Ed kiss the roulette ball at one point: priceless!) He seems to get a kick out of having such a big fan (which is better than thinking I’m a crazy stalker). All four of us forgot our cameras, so a big thank you to Virginia for getting a picture of me and Jimmy. She has more great Casino Night pictures on her blog, Getting Pucks Deep.
I got my picture taken with a few other players during the night with Ed’s phone. I had an absolute blast the entire time. We’ll definitely be going again next year, and next time, I won’t forget my camera.
